Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq: Asiacell today announced a major humanitarian project to support internally-displaced people (IDPs) and refugees in Iraq with a series of charity initiatives designed to improve living conditions and support clear lines of communication.
The company announced it will donate US$40,000 to provide clothes and other needs for Arbat Camp children who have been internally displaced within the country and to help keep communication alive within the conflict zones.
Asiacell will distribute 10,000 free SIM cards equipped with a free SMS notification service that will alert customers with vital information tailored for IDPs and refugees.
Faruk Mustafa Rasool, Asiacell Chairman said: “Communication is vital in crisis situations and we’re working hard to enable Iraq’s displaced and refugee population to call their loved ones and share news with friends and family. We are supporting a range of services designed to re-connect people who have been forced from their homes, and ensure they have sufficient services to stay healthy.”
Asiacell has established a call center for IDPs and refugees in Sulaimanyah, aiming to offer information about and connect people with the dedicated organizations and programs that provide help and support for them.
The refugee call center, which will work from a designated section of Asiacell’s existing customer support system, will be run by a non-governmental organization and will be supported by Asiacell to receive refugee inquiries, answer questions and provide free advice.
The company has also pledged to give handsets to refugee camp representatives, which will be equipped with mobile data and 1,000 free minutes per handset for three months. These can be used for coordination across the camps by the representatives and will enable families to contact each other across war zones, without having to worry about the cost.
About Asiacell
Asiacell is a leading provider of quality mobile telecommunications services in Iraq with nearly 12 million customers. Asiacell was the first mobile telecommunications provider in Iraq to achieve nationwide coverage, offering its services across all of Iraq’s 18 governorates including the national capital Baghdad and all other major Iraqi cities. Asiacell’s network covers 97% of the Iraqi population which makes its national coverage the widest among the mobile operators in Iraq. In 2012, Asiacell was recognized by the French market research firm Altai as being Iraq’s leading brand – not only in the mobile telecommunications market but across all sectors – a reflection of Asiacell’s strong brand recognition and its established reputation for quality, reliability and service. Asiacell provides prepaid mobile communications services that formed 97% of its subscribers (as per September 2012 statistics). Prepaid lines offers include some amended package offers to suit different sectors of the market-including young people, women and an innovative service targeting millions of visitors to Iraq every year. Asiacell also provides post-paid services to companies and individuals. In a pioneering achievement it fulfilled at the beginning of 2013, Asiacell won “mWomen” award granted by International Mobile Telecommunications Union for the category of the best communications services provided to women in the nascent markets, in recognition of its active role and efforts it made to develop communications industry in Iraq that culminated with the launch of innovative “Almas” line in Global Mobile Awards that belongs to International Mobile Telecommunications Conference held in Barcelona, Spain.
